Canna coccinea
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| Canna coccinea Blanc. |
Canna coccinea is a species of the Canna genus, belonging to the family Cannaceae, a native of the Caribbean and tropical Americas. Introduced to England from South America in 1731 (Johnson's Gardeners Dictionary, 1856).
It is a perennial growing to 2m. It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. In the north latitudes it is in flower from August to October, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
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[edit] Taxonomy
In the last three decades of the 20th century, Canna species have been categorised by two different taxonomists, Professor Paul Maas (and his wife Dr. Hiltje Maas) from Holland and Dr. Nobuyuki Tanaka from Japan. Inevitably, there are differences in their categorisations.
Dr Maas considers this to be a synonym of C. indica L., however, Dr Tanaka's studies have revealed that a DNA assay demonstrates that the C. indica complex can be clearly distinguished from other taxa, as a result he recognises this as a separate species.
[edit] Canna coccinea, Blanc.
Full heads of raspberry red flowers held high over the deeper green leaves. Orange or red staminodes (usually 2). The inflorescence stalk generally elongated and not branched. The fruits contain 3 to 5 seeds. The axis (inflorescence stalk) "distinctly triquetrous". Note: triquetrous: triangular in cross-section and acutely-angled; with three distinct longitudinal ridges.
[edit] References
- Johnson's Gardeners Dictionary, 1856
- Cooke, Ian: The Gardener's Guide to Growing cannas, Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-513-6
